You're the One
by LEAJPEHP
Summary: Shameless Grimes family fluff
Michonne ran through Alexandria to the church/ meeting hall. The entire way she cursed Maggie for holding her back late, but she knew whose fault that really was. She opened and closed the doors quietly and found her way into the main room. A hand grabbed her waist and she nearly reached for her katana until she felt a familiar pair of lips on her cheek. She whispered "Hello," to Rick as she pulled the sword over her head and leaned it against the wall. Rick finished wrapping his arms around her waist as they leaned back against the wall and listened to Gabriel preaching.

He kissed her neck and rested his chin on her shoulder, his hands on her stomach. Her hands covered his and his fingers rubbed back and forth on her muscles. She smiled at his touch and whispered, "It's your fault that I'm late."  
"How is that?" he answered in her ear.  
"Well, since you wouldn't let me leave the bed this morning-"  
"If I recall correctly, you weren't exactly begging _to leave_ -"  
"Well when you do that thing with your tongue- not the point. Since I got there late because of you, Maggie made me stay really late at watch."

Rick chuckled.  
"Shush. I'm mad at you right now."  
"Let me make it up to you later." One of his hands slipped down to her thigh.  
"Watch it," she muttered.  
"Waffles for dinner?"  
She nodded.

They stood there and listened to the women talk about the pantry and rationing.  
"Did I miss you talking?" Michonne asked.  
"I didn't have much to say," he answered. "You good baby?"  
"Always."  
"I'm glad you're not one of them, up there talking about the boxed pasta."  
"I wouldn't dream of it."

At the conclusion of the meeting Michonne saw Carl, Enid and Judith walking over. Carl was holding his baby sister and his face lit up when he saw Michonne. Rick let go of her and Carl hugged her while Rick took Judith, and Enid looked on, a touch jealous. Michonne pulled her into the hug.

The group of five began walking back to the house. Rick put Judith in the high chair in the kitchen. Carl and Enid ran upstairs with Michonne calling after them, "Open door, you two!"  
Rick held out his hand and she high-fived him.  
"Good parenting, right?" Michonne asked.  
Rick nodded as he cracked an egg into a bowl. Michonne handed him a whisk and sat down with Judith. Judith looked at her and Michonne stared right back. This went on for about fifteen minutes. Carl came downstairs with Enid, both looking a little flushed. Then, everything stopped.

Rick burned himself on the pan, Carl dropped the glass of water he'd just gotten on the floor, Enid gasped and sat down, and Michonne cried, all while Judith sat there smiling, until she repeated what she had just said as she reached out for Michonne, "Mama!"

Carl looked down at the shattered glass at his feet and said, "Crap, I'm sorry Dad."  
Rick stood there dumbfounded. Enid got Carl a rag and he began mopping up the water, picking the glass out of it. Once he'd cleaned up he plucked the waffle, about to burn, off of the griddle.

"Wow," Carl exhaled, before he left the room.  
Michonne handed the now crying Judith to Enid and followed Carl up to his room. She looked in on him as she knocked.  
"Hey Carl," she said softly.  
He looked up, tears brimming in his eyes, "I don't want to talk."  
"I don't want to talk about that either."  
She sat on his bed and, noticing the smooth comforter said, "It doesn't look like you were messing around with Enid."  
"We made out a little bit on the floor. Sorry."  
"I'm sorry too."  
"I said I didn't want to talk about that."  
"I'm still sorry."  
"I killed her," he cried. "Judith doesn't get her."  
"I know."  
Michonne laid out on the bed and Carl followed suit. "I'm sorry Michonne. I took that away from you."  
"You didn't Carl."  
He looked at her and she laughed, "Okay, maybe you did, but it's okay. Part of being "Mom" is letting you hurt my feelings and making you feel better."

"I knew she was going to say it, but I thought she'd say dad first and it would've been easier. If it had to be anyone, I wanted it to be you. I'm sorry, I just overreacted, in the moment. I want you to be Judith's mom."  
"I want to be her mom too, but only if you're okay with it."  
"I am. It just makes me miss my mom."  
"I know. Hearing Judith call me that made me think of André."  
"I didn't even think of that. Are you okay?"  
"I will be. _We_ will be okay. Do you understand me, Carl Grimes?"

Carl nodded and wrapped his arms around Michonne.  
"Carl, we never talked about your dad and me."  
"I know," Carl muttered.  
"I'm sorry you found out that way. I wanted to talk to you. I didn't want your dad to even say anything until I talked to you first."  
"Thank you."  
"I'm not going to tell you anything you don't want to hear, but your dad and I both need this. We need each other, we make each other better."  
"You already lived in the house. Now I know you and Dad aren't lonely. You don't deserve to be. I want you to be happy. Just promise me you won't fight."  
"I can't promise."  
"Don't do it in front of me. The morning my dad got shot, my mom said he didn't care about us."  
"I would never say anything like that. I've never seen a man care so much."

The two of them laid in Carl's bed together. Michonne broke the silence by saying, "Is there anything you want to say, before we go back down?"  
"You're the best."  
Michonne smiled and said, "I bet there's some food downstairs."

"I'll be down in a minute."  
"Take your time."

When Michonne went downstairs she found Rick holding Judith, grinning broadly at her. Enid was working on the waffles.  
Rick pointed at Michonne excitedly and asked, "Who's that?"  
"Mama!"  
"Give me that baby."  
Rick handed her over and looked at Enid, "You good there?"  
She nodded at him and turned back to the waffle iron.  
Rick and Michonne walked into the living room and sat down with Judith between them on the couch.

"Is he okay?"  
"Just shocked. He's thinking. Are you okay, Dada?"  
He smirked at her and said, "I'm fine. I was just shocked too."  
"He'll be fine. It just makes him miss Lori."  
"You guys have good talks."

"Hey! The food's getting cold!" Enid hollered, both to them, and to Carl.  
Rick chuckled and held out his hand to Michonne once she stood. She ignored him and carried Judith back to the kitchen. Carl was standing next to Enid at the griddle, a hand on her shoulder, and they spoke in hushed tones. Rick cleared his throat. They turned around and Carl blushed.  
"Can we eat upstairs?" Carl asked, looking at Rick pleadingly.  
"Nope, sorry son. You know we all eat together."  
"I had to try."

Rick laughed and took plates of waffles and set them down at the table. Enid started towards the door. Rick cut her off "Uh uh, Enid, come back here. You don't get to come to my house, make out with my son and leave. Stay, have a nice dinner."  
Enid nodded and said, "Thank you."

Carl and Enid blushed at each other the entire meal, nudging each other under the table, and Rick and Michonne exchanged smiles as Rick fed Judith. After they did the dishes together Carl and Enid walked to the front door, and shared a painfully awkward goodbye kiss as Michonne watched with Judith on her hip.  
As Carl ran up the stairs Michonne asked, "Want to hang out Carl?"  
"Not a chance, bye!"  
She heard the door close.

She walked Judith around until she fell asleep at which point she took the baby up to Carl's room. She knocked on the door. Carl came right to the door and asked, "What's up?"  
She passed him the sleeping baby and said, "Night Michonne."  
"Night Carl." She kissed the top of his head as she did every night when she brought Judith to him before going downstairs to sit with Rick on the couch.

He was laid out on the couch. She kicked his foot and he sat up. She collapsed in the spot previously occupied by his torso. She reached over and grasped at the hand he had burned on the griddle when Judith spoke.  
He matched her gaze and said, "Definitely worth it."  
She grinned at him and he wrapped an arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Carl and Enid are cute."  
"I'm glad he gets to do this," Rick answered.  
"Tell me about your first girlfriend," Michonne demanded.  
"Well, I married her."  
Michonne sat up straight. She proclaimed, "This is a bedroom discussion."  
"What does that even mean?" Rick whined.  
"It means, this is the type of talk you have in bed where you can wrap yourself in the comforter and hold each other because it hurts but you want to say it anyway."

"I want that."  
"See?" Michonne stood, and held out a hand to Rick. He took it gently and followed her up the stairs to their room. Michonne shed her long sleeved shirt, leaving her tank top, and exchanged her jeans for a pair of Rick's boxers. Rick undid his gun belt and let his pants pool on the floor around his ankles. He stepped out of them and joined Michonne under the covers. He turned out the lamp and moonlight flooded the room. He saw the outline of her face and that encouraged him to talk about Lori.

"Do you care about what I say about her?" he asked.  
Michonne shook her head. "I know if she were alive, she would be the one laying in this bed with you, raising your children, cooking waffles and all the homemaker stuff. It's okay."

"Thank you. Freshman year, I looked at her, and all I could do was stutter around her, and make a total fool of myself. I used to watch her walk with her friends through the courtyard at lunch, every day, she did that, for months. Then one day, she had a fight with her friends, about some boy. It got physical and one of her friend shoved her down. I got up and went over to her and told the other two girls to leave. I helped her pick up her books, and I helped her stand up. Her shirt was ripped from where she fell, so I gave her mine and walked around in a T-shirt for the rest of the day."  
"How chivalrous," Michonne commented, rubbing circles in her shoulder.  
Rick chuckled, "Why, thank you. As I was saying, rumors started flying, and we went with it. I was glad to obviously. She went to college, I went to the police academy. We kept up long distance. I never cheated. I don't think she did, but I don't know. It only seemed natural that I would marry her at the end of it. So I asked her father, and after he showed me his shotgun, he said yes." Michonne laughed softly, staring at his shoulder. "Then, Shane and I went, he helped me pick out a ring for her, and then one night, we were sitting at home, and I was telling her this story even though she'd heard it a thousand times. She says 'Rick, shut up, I know how this story ends, and I don't want to think about Shane on date night.' So I stood up, told her I went to the bathroom, but I got the ring from my sock drawer, came back, got down on one knee and asked her. She cried. A lot, but she said yes. We got married really quickly after that, and got pregnant with Carl about two months in."  
"You never wanted another baby?"  
"Carl was enough. We wanted to focus on him."  
"That's wonderful."  
"How did you know she was the one?"  
"She was the one, because she was the only one. I didn't know enough. Of course I loved her; I'm the one who proposed, I'm the one who got her pregnant, but now I know she wasn't the only one. You're the one Michonne."  
"I don't think you mean that Rick," Michonne said carefully.  
"I do mean that, so very much. It's okay, if you don't feel that way too."  
"I don't know yet Rick."  
"That's okay. I really don't mind. I just needed _you_ to know how I feel."

Michonne rolled over, facing away from Rick. He put an arm around her waist and kissed her shoulder.  
"I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to freak you out."  
"It's okay."

There was silence for a few moments.

Then, "Chonne?"  
"Goodnight Rick."  
Rick could tell she didn't want him holding her anymore so he let go of her and rolled away muttering, "See you in the morning."  
He reached his hand over his back, surprised to find that Michonne had done the same. They grasped each other's hands, holding on, but refusing to look, refusing to meet the point of no return, of officially becoming more than friends. Sure the sex and the domesticity meant something, but saying the words, admitting it out loud, that he was the one, well that would just push things over the edge.

Yet, about two hours later, Rick had been asleep for a while now. She let go of his hand, rolled over and wrapped an arm around him, pressed her body against him. He stirred and she kissed his ear. He twisted his neck to get a good look at her and she said, "You're it."  
"What?"  
"You heard me. You're it. You're the one."  
"Well thank God."  
He pulled her on top of him and hugged her tightly. He noted how wonderful her body felt against his; the soft feel of her breasts against his chest, the warmth radiating off of her supple skin, the absolutely divine way her lips felt on his neck, the way her legs slid and one was on each side of him, and how he never wanted to let go.


End file.
